How bad is the economy in north Michigan?

Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.

I currently reside in Mid-Michigan, I moved here from the suburbs of Detroit about 4 years ago. My husband is on the verge of losing his job with an automotive carrier, he is a truck driver. At one time driving jobs were a dime a dozen, now there are none to be found. I have a decent job but I can't support the family.

We are considering moving to Wyoming, there are lots of jobs out there and the pay is very good as well.

We will not leave Michigan because we want to, it will be a matter of having to. We have small children to raise and I don't see the point in staying here and continuing to struggle.

I have been in Michigan my whole life, and our families are here, but you gotta do what ya gotta do to survive. I will miss it here but I am sure I will be back often to visit.

I beg to differ on this! Marquette has not seeing no appreciable drop off????? What about the imminent mine layoffs, and 3 marquette restaurants closing in the last month or so??? I work at a large retail hardware store, and having worked there for 10 years, I can can honestly say that this year is unbelievably slower than ever before! Our "competition" is doing just as poorly. People are just NOT spending money on home projects, etc. You may want to re think your thoughts on this....

What restaurants? Waterfront closed because of horrible management. L'attitudes, which opened at the same time and same location, is doing great.

Fazolis was always really busy, so I don't really know why they closed.

Coney Joint was new and, like a majority of new restaurants anywhere, just couldn't hack it.

Border Grill just opened a new fancy restaurant, Rodney's Pizza (though I loathe the idea of another pizza joint) is reported by family related to the owners to be doing very well.

Cleveland Cliffs has reported record profits in recent quarters, but of course there are going to be layoffs like there are everywhere in the nation.

Of course things are slowed down - as I said they're slowed down everywhere. I just meant that, within that larger context, Marquette is doing fine. It isn't exactly littered with foreclosures, empty storefronts, and the loss of a major industry leaving a void like when government jobs left with the airforce base closing.

So, no, I don't think I will rethink my thoughts. It's not crippled like metro Detroit.

AMEN TO THAT!! To answer the OP ?-- The tourist areas like TC to date have held on, thanks to 2nd home owners especially. The areas not so popular with tourists are quite another story. Our house has dropped 40k in 3 years, and UE is well above the state average. We have also considered moving, but that is also costly and blue collar and skilled trades don't often offer relocation assistance. Plus we love Mi and really don't want to leave. We don't actually mind snow!

I can't speak for all of northern Michigan, but I recently sold my home in Traverse City and got $4500.00 more than my realtor initially wanted me to list the house for. It was only on the market for about three months, and I had three offers. The first only a week or two after it was listed, that fell through, and the second also fell through, but that buyer then came back and ended up buying the house. I do think that in my case staging had a lot to do with it, although I will confess that I also buried a St. Joseph statue!

I think Traverse City (and Grand Rapids) is doing better than other parts of the state, but the pox invading the rest of the state will eventually make it there too.

I just moved to Greenville SC Monday, and there are jobs here!

How do you like it down in Greenville. I live in T.C and was suppose to move to Greenville in August. I took a postion as a middle school teacher at Riverside Middle in Greer but I had to call and withdraw because my house and business did not sell. I thought it was pretty nice down there but not as nice as everyone else made it out to be. I am still thinking of moving down there for the next school year but I would love to get a teaching job here and stay here because my children really dont want to move again.
Just wondering why you moved to Greenville and if it is a place where you can see yourself 10 years from now.

One part of Northern Michigan that I think will be suffering soon are the various golf resorts (and tourist dollars that are spent in those areas). Back in the boom days, they couldn't build new courses fast enough and having a course was a sure way to make a profit. For the past several years that trend was steadily reversing. It was surprising how empty many of the courses were during the prime times on weekends not to mention vacant weekday courses during the summer. I hate to see how the 2009 season will be in this economy. I'm afraid we are going to see several courses go under. Golf is not an inexpensive sport and I know already that my number of rounds next year will have to be reduced.

They also depended on snowmobilers. I have people I contact now and again up north, they said with all the snow they are not seeing the snow machines on the trails. Now Michigan is almost out of $ for the unemployment fund. The news said that they were going to be taking the tax up on employed people to cover the short fall on the unemployed. This is just another brick in the wall. How long can the state take these hits? Bushed even said that we are possibly heading for times worse than the Great Depression. He is always a day late and a brain cell short. [SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

How do you like it down in Greenville. I live in T.C and was suppose to move to Greenville in August. I took a postion as a middle school teacher at Riverside Middle in Greer but I had to call and withdraw because my house and business did not sell. I thought it was pretty nice down there but not as nice as everyone else made it out to be. I am still thinking of moving down there for the next school year but I would love to get a teaching job here and stay here because my children really dont want to move again.
Just wondering why you moved to Greenville and if it is a place where you can see yourself 10 years from now.

Best of Luck

I am loving it here so far. It is really a wonderful town, and when I buy, which I plan to do in a year or so, Greer will be one of the towns I consider. Traverse City is a hard act to follow, I lived there for 22 years and it was hard to leave in some ways, but I won't miss the having to work seven days a week to afford to be there. For me, it made no sense to stay.

I miss my family and friends in Fenton, Michigan... We moved to Benton, Arkansas about 11 months ago, and never thought it would be this difficult. I listen to Kid Rock song, Times like these.. and listening to it makes me feel like we should of stuck it out, but how do you survive with no jobs. Were looking into possibly moving to North Dakota, where there is an abundance of high paying jobs there. I am willing to live far, far away from all family and friends, to be able to support my children, to help them get their lives started, like my father did back in the day when he moved from Kentucky to Michigan for work... I feel it its the same situation.

Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.